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Friday, December 7, 2012

‘Everyday,
Jesus humbles Himself just as He did when He came from His Heavenly
Throne in the Virgins womb; everyday He comes to us and lets us see Him
in Abjection, when He decends from the bosom of the Father into the
hands of the Priest at the altar!’ St. Francis Of Assisi

"A Nativity Scene was erected in a church yard. During the night, someone came across this. An abandoned dog was looking for a comfortable, protected place to sleep. He chose baby Jesus as his comfort. No one had the heart to send him away so he was there all night.

We should all have the good sense of this dog and curl up in Jesus' lap from time to time. This is too sweet not to share. No one mentioned that the dog breed is a 'shepherd!'"

"O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you." ♥

(Photo of the Creche located next to the Portiuncula Chapel on the campus of the Franciscan University of Steubenville)

"Francis observed the birthday of the Child Jesus with inexpressible
eagerness over all other feasts, saying that it was the feast of feasts,
on which God, having become a tiny
infant, clung to human breasts. Pictures of those infant members he
kissed with thoughts filled with yearning, and his compassion for the
Child flooded his heart and made in stammer words of sweetness after the
manner of infants."

"It would be considered a theft on our part if we didn't give to someone in greater need than we are!" "I should be accounted a thief by the great Almsgiver were I to
withhold that which I wear from him who has greater need of it than I!"

- St. Francis of Assisi The Poverello (little poor man) always looked dishevelled. This was
because, though he had no money (refused to have it for the love of
God!) he did have the clothes on his back. Nearly every day some poor
person - so poor they didn't have clothes! - would come and beg from him
and so he would give him his clothes or, at least, tear off part of his
clothes so that the poor person might have something. He was so
generous, never turned anyone away, that everyone knew they could get at
least something from him! This kept St. Francis always in rags but
also drew him closer to poor Jesus - He who became poor for love of us,
giving us His all. Thanks be to God!

True Story:

A lady came to San Giovanni Rotondo from England to have her confession
heard by Padre Pio. She went to his confessional but Padre Pio closed
the window saying : "I am not available to you." The woman stayed for
several weeks and during this time, daily returned to his confessional
and daily was turned away. Finally, Padre Pio consented to hear her
confession. She asked the Padre why he made her wait so long to be
heard. Padre Pio answered : "And You?" "How long have you made Our Lord
wait!? You should wonder how Jesus could welcome you after you
committed so many sacrileges. You have delayed your judgment for years,
besides sinning against your husband and your mother you have received
Holy Communion in mortal sin!' The woman was stunned and reformed. She
cried when she received absolution. She returned to England a few days
later, very happy.

There
is one thing I desire from you above everything else: that your normal
meditation be, if possible, around the Life, Passion and Death, and also
the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can then
meditate on His birth, His flight into Egypt and His life there, His
return and His hidden life in the workshop of Nazareth up to the age of
thirty, His humility in His desire to be baptized by His precursor St.
John. You can meditate on His public life, His most painful Passion and
Death, the institution of the most Holy Sacrament, the very evening men
were preparing the most atrocious sufferings. You can meditate again on
Jesus praying in the Garden of Olives, sweating blood knowing what
sufferings men were preparing for Him and the ingratitude of men who
would not make use of His merits. You can meditate also on Jesus being
dragged and led to the tribunal, flagellated and crowned with thorns,
the course He climbed to Calvary laden with the cross, His crucifixion
and finally His death on the cross with all the suffering of seeing His
most sorrowful mother.

The
Anima Christi is a prayer from around the 14th century. It is still
widely used after receiving the body and blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ in Holy Communion.

"Soul of Christ, sanctify me Body of Christ, save me Blood of Christ, inebriate me Water from Christ's side, wash me Passion of Christ, strengthen me O good Jesus, hear me Within Thy wounds hide me Suffer me not to be separated from Thee From the malicious enemy defend me In the hour of my death call me And bid me come unto Thee That I may praise Thee with Thy saints and with Thy angels Forever and ever Amen."